Three generations of a family, including a two-year-old girl, have been killed during a driving lesson after their car plunged into a Rhode Island river.
Police received a report that a car had driven into the Seekonk River in Pawtucket on Sunday evening at the small boat-launching area, The Boston Globe reported.
After hours of searching for the submerged car, authorities pulled it out of the water Monday afternoon. The 45-year-old woman, a 22-year-old woman and the two-year-old girl inside the car were found dead.
Pawtucket resident Josue Gomez told The Globe it was his wife, Floridalma Arceno, their daughter, Linora Sucely Gomez, and their granddaughter, Ana Sofia Garcia Gomez, who were killed in the accident.
Gomez said Arceno was teaching their daughter how to drive with their granddaughter in the car when his wife called him in a panic and said, “‘It won’t brake, it won’t brake.’’
“It was the last thing she said to me,” he said.
Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves told reporters that a “Good Samaritan riding a jet ski in the vicinity heard the car enter the water and attempted to help,” The Providence Journal reported.
“While this was occurring, another individual called 911, and first responders were on scene within 3 minutes,” Goncalves said.
Gomez said he hurried to the boat ramp Sunday evening, but the car was already submerged.
Police tried to find the car, but suspended the search around 1 a.m. Monday due to poor conditions, according to reports.
The search resumed Monday morning, and by around 2:30 p.m. ET, a tow truck pulled the car out of the water.
“They were good people,” Gomez told The Globe.
The Independent has reached out to the Pawtucket Police Department and the Rhode Island Office of the State Medical Examiners for comment.
Authorities called it a “tragic accident,” and said there were no indications of foul play, according to reports.
“Preliminary findings suggest the vehicle was in proper working order,” Pawtucket Detective Sergeant Paul Trout said in an email to The Globe.
Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebien called the incident a “heartbreaking tragedy” in a statement shared with the media.
“Our community mourns alongside them, and we want them to know they are not alone during this unimaginable time,” Grebien said.
